Wafer probe device

ABSTRACT

An wafer probe device is provided, including a holder, and a probe card. The holder has a holding surface for holding a wafer. The probe card has a probing side for probing the wafer. Wherein the holder and the probe card are disposed on the ground, and the holding surface of the holder and the probing side of the probe card are perpendicular to the ground. Wherein when the holder holds the wafer to move upwardly toward the probe card into a probing position, the probed surface of the wafer is in contact with the probe card, and the probe surface is perpendicular to the ground.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 17/354,224, filed Jun. 22, 2021 and entitled “WAFER PROBE DEVICE”,which claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 109135673, filedon Oct. 15, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a wafer probe device, and, inparticular, to a wafer probe device that includes a holder and a probecard.

Description of the Related Art

Generally, the structure of a conventional wafer probing machine usuallyplaced the wafer at a loading port, taking out from a wafer cassette bya transfer mechanism. The wafer is placed on a chuck after correction,and moving the chuck upward to a corresponding position to allow theprobe apparatus to conduct electrical testing. The size and weight ofthe probe heads of the probe apparatus may vary to meet productrequirements. Simple examples include the Single DUT Cantilever ProbeCard and the Wafer Acceptance Test (WAT). A more complex example is theCPU Wafer test. Usually, in order to be able to handle various wafertests, the probe apparatus must be made strong enough.

In cases with a large amount of chips, the diameter of the probe head islarger and heavier. In the old test process, the probe head is locked onthe inner ring manually, and is in contact with a testing apparatuslinking between the tester interface board and the probe card (such asPOGO Tower, by ‘Turbodynamics’) or the probe head is placed on an autoprobe card changer (APC), and is loaded automatically by the probe.However, the configuration of these apparatuses may not be consistentwith human factors engineering. For example, a risk in handling it isthat the downward probe may not be seen. As for these test processes,debris from friction may accumulate on the wafer, causing the risk ofprobe striking. In addition, for the maintenance of the probe apparatus,another mechanical apparatus is often required to move it before it maybe processed, and it needs to be re-set after processing. Therefore, howto provide a better wafer-probing tool is an important issue.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wafer probe device,including a holder, and a probe card. The holder has a holding surfacefor holding a wafer. The probe card has a probing side for probing thewafer. Wherein the holder and the probe card are disposed on the ground,and the holding surface of the holder and the probing side of the probecard are perpendicular to the ground. Wherein when the holder holds thewafer to move upwardly toward the probe card into a probing position,the probed surface of the wafer is in contact with the probe card, andthe probe surface is perpendicular to the ground.

In one embodiment, the holder is an electrostatic chuck, and when theelectrostatic chuck sucks the wafer, a central axis of the electrostaticchuck is parallel to the ground, the probe card includes a probeassembly, the probe assembly is located on the probing side of the probecard for probing the wafer, when the probe card probes the wafer, theextension direction of the probe assembly is parallel to the ground andis parallel to the central axis of the holder, the probe card isunmovably disposed on the ground, the wafer probe device furtherincludes a transportation module, wherein the transportation module isconfigured to transport the wafer to the holder, the holder includes amain body and a holder assembly, wherein the holder assembly is movablydisposed around the main body, when the transportation module transportsthe wafer to the holder, the holder assembly carries the wafer and movestoward the body. In one embodiment, a back side of the wafer abuts themain body of the holder, the back side of the wafer is opposite to theprobed surface. In one embodiment, the holder assembly includes aplurality of holding members disposed around the main body, and each ofthe holding members is in an L-shaped structure and has a bearingsection, wherein the bearing section is parallel to the main body of theholder and is used for carrying the wafer, the holder includes a mainbody and a suction assembly, and the suction assembly is disposed on themain body and is movable relative to the main body, the suction assemblyextends along a central axis of the holder, when the transportationmodule transports the wafer to the holder, the suction assembly sucksthe back side of the wafer. In one embodiment, the back side is oppositeto the probed surface, the suction assembly moves toward the main body,the wafer probe device further including a transportation module, andthe transportation module is configured to transport the wafer to theholder, the transportation module rotates the wafer from a horizontalstate to a vertical state, and the transportation module transports thewafer in the vertical state to the holder, when the wafer is in thevertical state, a center axis of the wafer is parallel to the ground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be more fully understood by reading thesubsequent detailed description and examples with references made to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a wafer probe device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2D show schematic views of a holder, a transportation moduleand a wafer of FIG. 1 .

FIGS. 3A-3D and 4A-4B show schematic views of the holder, thetransportation module and the wafer of different embodiments.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the wafer probe device according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6D show schematic views of the holder, the transportationmodule and the wafer of FIG. 5 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which shows a schematic view of a wafer probedevice 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thewafer probe device 100, for example, may be used for probing process fora semiconductor wafer. Through the wafer probe device 100, thecharacteristics may be probed before the post-process to confirm whetherthere is a defective product or not. The structure of the wafer probedevice 100 will be described in detail below.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 1 , the wafer probe device 100 includesa holder and a probe card 20 for probing a probed surface W1 of thewafer W. The holder 10 is used to hold the wafer W and to move the waferW to the probe card 20 for testing, the wafer probe device 100 furtherincludes a transportation module 30. For example, the wafers W istransported to the holder 10 using the transportation module 30, thenthe wafer W is moved toward the probe card 20 through the holder 10, thetransportation module 30 includes a transport member 31 and a controlunit 32, and the transport member 31 may be a robotic arm that may holdthe back side W2 (opposite to the probed surface W1) of the wafer W formoving. For example, moving the wafer W from the wafer cassette(cassette) to the holder 10. The control unit 32 is for controlling thetransport member 31, the transportation module 30 may be regarded as anexternal apparatus that transfer the wafer W.

In the present embodiment, the probe card 20 is disposed on the groundG, and the holder 10 is located above the probe card 20, or the probecard 20 is located above the holder 10. The holder is farther from theground G when comparing to the probe card 20. The wafer W to be probedis located between the holder 10 and the probe card 20. The probe card20 has a probe assembly 21, which located at a probing side 20S1 of theprobe card 20. The probe assembly 21 extends away or faces away from theground G, and extends towards holder 10. The probing side 20S1 facesaway from the ground G.

FIGS. 2A-2D show schematic views of the holder 10 holding the wafer W.As shown in FIG. 2A, in the present embodiment, the holder 10 has a mainbody 11 and a holder assembly 12. The holder assembly 12 is disposedaround the periphery of the main body 11. The holder assembly 12 extendsalong the central axis 10C of the holder 10, and the holder assembly 12may move relative to the main body 11. Specifically, the holder assembly12 has a plurality (in the present embodiment, three) holding members RDdisposed around the main body 11, if the main body 11 is regarded as aclock with a circular structure, the holding members RD are located atthe three o'clock, six o'clock, and nine o'clock positions of the clock,respectively.

The holding member RD is in an L-shaped structure, and the holdingmember RD includes a bearing section RD1. As shown in FIG. 2B, when theholder 10 is not carrying or holding the wafer W, the holder assembly 12projects from the main body 11 toward the probe card 20 or the ground G.As the held position in FIG. 2B, when moving the wafer W to the holder10 by the transportation module 30, the wafer W is placed on the bearingsection RD1 of each holding members RD via the transport member 31; orthe holding member RD moves, and the bearing section RD1 is moved towardthe wafer W. Thus, the wafer W is carried by the holding member, and thetransportation module 30 may disconnected from the wafer W.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the holding members RD that carries the waferW moves upwardly toward the main body W, or moves away from the probecard 20 or the ground G to make the back side W2 of the wafer W abutagainst the main body 11. As shown in FIG. 3D, at this time, one may beregarded that a holding surface 10H of the holder 10 is holds andcarries the wafer W. In this way, the holder 10 holds the wafer Wfirmly. Then, the holder 10 may move the wafer W toward the probe card20, such as the moving direction D1, to probe the wafer W.

In this way, the probing efficiency may be improved through moving theholder above the probe card 20. For example, the probe card 20 may bedesign to big enough when facing different wafer probing with varioussizes and shapes. The setup mechanism of the probe card 20 may besimplified and it is unnecessary to move the probe card by setting-upmechanism with the ground G disposed below. Therefore, the time andefficiency of the probe procedure is improved. In addition, the wafer Wand the probe card may be directly viewed when the wafer W and the probecard 20 are set for probing since the wafer W is held by the holder 10to move downwardly toward the probe card 20. This reduces the risk ofoperation, for example, the damage to the probed surface W1 of the waferW is avoided or reduced. Furthermore, since the probe card 20 probes thewafer W upwardly, the fragment generated due to friction when probingmay fall down due to gravity. Compared with probing the wafer with theprobe card downward, the fragment may be prevented from accumulated onthe wafer W, and the risk of probe striking is avoided, thereby thequality of the process is greatly improved.

FIGS. 3A-3D show schematic views of the holder 10 holding the wafer W ofanother embodiment. In the present embodiment, the holder 10 has ansuction assembly 13, which is disposed within the main body 11 of theholder 10. The suction assembly 13 extends along the central axis 10C ofthe holder 10, and the suction assembly 13 may move relative to the mainbody 11. The suction assembly 13 is for sucking the back side W2 of thewafer W.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the suction assembly 13 projects from themain body 11 and the back side W2 of the wafer W is sucked by thesuction assembly 13 when transporting the wafer W to the holder 10 bythe transportation module 30. Thus, the transportation module 30transfers the wafer W to the holder 10 and exits. Thereafter, as shownin FIGS. 3C and 3D, the suction assembly 13 moves toward the main body11 of the holder 10 to allow the main body 11 carry the wafer W stably.At this time, it may be regarded that the holding surface 10H of theholder 10 holds and carries the wafer W. Thereafter, the holder 10 maymove the wafer W toward the probe card 20 to probe the wafer W.

In the present embodiment, the suction assembly 13 has a plurality of(three) of the suction heads 131 assembly for absorbing the wafer W, thesuction assembly 13 may have other numbers of suction heads 131, forexample, one, two, or four suction heads, the suction head 131 of thesuction assembly 13 sucks the back side W2 of the wafer W through vacuumsuction.

FIGS. 4A-4B show schematic views of the holder 10 including a holderassembly 12 and an suction assembly 13 of another embodiment. Whentransporting the wafer W to the holder 10 by the transportation module30, the wafer W is disposed at the bearing section RD1 of the holderassembly 12, or the bearing section RD1 of the holder assembly 12 ismoved to the wafer W at the corresponding position by the transportationmodule, so as to carry the wafer W. Moreover, the back side W2 of thewafer W is sucked by the suction assembly 13 and is moved toward themain body 11 of the holder 10.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of a wafer probe device 200 according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure. The wafer probe device 200of the present embodiment performs wafer probing in a vertical manner.The wafer probe device 200 includes a holder 10, a probe card 20, and atransportation module 30. The wafer W may be probed through the waferprobe device 200. The details of the wafer probe device 200 will bedescribed in detail below.

Please refer to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the abovementioned transportationmodule 30 is for transporting the wafer W to the holder 10, wherein thetransportation module 30 holds the back side of the wafer W. The wafer Wis rotated from the horizontal state to the vertical state, such as therotation direction R1, before rotating the wafer W, pre-alignment may beperformed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the wafer W in the vertical state is placedon the holder 10, or the holder 10 is moved close to the wafer W, sothat the holder 10 holds the wafer W, such as holds through the holdingsurface 10H of the holder. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6D, the wafer Wis moved horizontally to the probe card 20 by the holder 10, such asalong the moving direction D1, to perform the wafer probe procedure,before moved the wafer W horizontally to the probe card 20, performingthe alignment of wafer W with the probe assembly 21.

In some embodiments, the holder 10 may be an electrostatic chuck(E-Chuck) for providing a bias and for generating suction force, theholding surface 10H of which has a copper wire. The copper wire maypolarize the surface layer by voltage electric field and generate thesuction force at the surface of the sucked object for holding. Thus,even if an abnormality of the power supply to the process plant occurs,the wafer W may still be sucked, the electrostatic chuck may usedifferent of substrate materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum,glass, synthetic plastic.

It should be noted that the transportation module 30 turns the wafer Winto vertical state (relative to the ground G) and then delivers it tothe holder 10. While the standing holder 10 (relative to the ground G)may be pushed horizontally to the probe card and the extending directionof the probe assembly 21 of the probe card 20 is parallel to the groundG, or is parallel to the central axis 10C of the holder 10. Thus, sincethe holder is in the standing state, the holding surface 10H of theholder 10 that holds the wafer W is perpendicular to (or considered assubstantially perpendicular to, for example, between +5 degrees to −5degrees) the ground G. This allows directly observation of the overallcondition during operation, which is helpful for probing.

In addition, since the objects are in an upright state, that is, thecentral axis 10C of the holder 10, the central axis WC of the wafer Wand the extending direction of the probe 21 of the probe card areparallel to the ground G (or considered as substantially parallel to,for example, between +5 degrees to −5 degrees). The accumulation of thedebris on the wafer W or the probe card 20 may be avoided the contactbetween the elements when the debris is generated. In addition, underthe high-temperature test process, the hot air escapes upwardly.Compared with the traditional probe card 20 disposed above the holder10, the probe card 20 may be affected by the hot air, which may causewarpage, probe expansion, and probe deformation. The abovementionedproblems may be effectively avoided.

In other embodiments, different holding disks and test tools may beused. For example, the horizontal wafers W placed in the JEDEC tray istaken out and put into the test tray (T-Tray) through the transportassembly 30. The test tray is rotated for 90 degrees, so that the waferW is in the horizontal state, and the wafer W is then horizontallypushed toward the Hi-Fix Socket for probing. After completing theprobing, the test tray is rotated to turn the probed wafer W back to thehorizontal state, and the wafer W is then put back to the JEDEC tray.

According to the foregoing embodiment, the present disclosure alsoprovides a method for probing wafers. The method includes transferringor transporting the wafer to a holder by a transportation module, andthe holder holds the wafer to move toward a probe card for probingprocess.

In some embodiments, the method for probing wafers further includestransporting the wafer to the holder assembly of the holder by thetransportation module. The holder assembly moves toward the main body ofthe holder after carrying the holder assembly, letting the back side ofthe wafer abuts the main body, and moving the wafer toward the probecard by the holder, the method for probing wafers further includestransporting the wafer to the holder by the transporting module, suckingthe back side of the wafer through the suction assembly of the holderand moving toward the main body of the holder, so that the back side ofthe wafer abuts the main body. The wafer is moved toward the probe cardby the holder.

In some other embodiments, the method for probing wafers furtherincludes transporting the wafer to the holder assembly of the holder bythe transportation module. The holder assembly moves toward the mainbody of the holder after carrying the wafer, and the suction assembly ofthe holder sucks the back side of the wafer. The holder assembly and thesuction assembly move toward the main body of the holder, so that theback side of the wafer abuts the main body, and the holder carries thewafer to move toward the probe card.

In some embodiments, the method for probing wafers further includesdetecting wafer rotating the wafer from the horizontal state to thevertical (or upright) state (relative to the ground), then placing thewafer on the holder. The holder sucks the back side of the wafer,wherein the central axes of the holder and the wafer are parallel to theground, the holder moves the wafer to toward the probe card along thecentral axis, wherein the extending direction of the probe of the probecard is parallel to the ground.

It should be noted that the features of various embodiments may becombined and used as long as they do not depart from or conflict to thespirit and the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the holder10 in FIG. 1 may be an electrostatic chuck; the holder 10 in FIG. 5 maybe mounted with the holder assembly 12.

In summary, An embodiment of the present invention provides a waferprobe device, including: a holder, for holding a wafer; and a probecard, disposed on a ground, located between the holder and the ground,and located below the holder, with a probing side of the probe cardfacing away from the ground. The holder holds the wafer to move towardthe probe card, and a probed surface of the wafer is in contact with theprobe card.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a wafer probedevice, including: a holder, having a holding surface, for holding awafer; and a probe card, having a probing side, for probing the wafer.Wherein the holder and the probe card are disposed on the ground, andthe holding surface of the holder and the probing side of the probe cardare perpendicular to the ground. When the holder holds the wafer to moveupwardly toward the probe card into a probing position, the probedsurface of the wafer is in contact with the probe card, and the probesurface is perpendicular to the ground.

The abovementioned embodiments are described in sufficient detail, sothat a person with ordinary skill in the art to which the inventionbelongs may implement the devices disclosed in this disclosure with theabove description, and it must be understood that modifications andvariations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of thepresent disclosure depends on the scope defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wafer probe device, comprising: a holder,having a holding surface, for holding a wafer; and a probe card, havinga probing side, for probing the wafer, wherein the holder and the probecard are disposed on the ground, and the holding surface of the holderand the probing side of the probe card are perpendicular to the ground,wherein when the holder holds the wafer to move upwardly toward theprobe card into a probing position, the probed surface of the wafer isin contact with the probe card, and the probe surface is perpendicularto the ground.
 2. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe holder is an electrostatic chuck, and when the electrostatic chucksucks the wafer, a central axis of the electrostatic chuck is parallelto the ground.
 3. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe probe card comprises a probe assembly, the probe assembly is locatedon the probing side of the probe card for probing the wafer.
 4. Thewafer probe device as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the probe cardprobes the wafer, the extension direction of the probe assembly isparallel to the ground and is parallel to the central axis of theholder.
 5. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 1, wherein theprobe card is unmovably disposed on the ground.
 6. The wafer probedevice as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a transportationmodule, wherein the transportation module is configured to transport thewafer to the holder.
 7. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 6,wherein the holder comprises a main body and a holder assembly, whereinthe holder assembly is movably disposed around the main body.
 8. Thewafer probe device as claimed in claim 7, wherein when thetransportation module transports the wafer to the holder, the holderassembly carries the wafer and moves toward the body.
 9. The wafer probedevice as claimed in claim 7, wherein a back side of the wafer abuts themain body of the holder.
 10. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim9, wherein the back side of the wafer is opposite to the probed surface.11. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the holderassembly comprises a plurality of holding members disposed around themain body, and each of the holding members is in an L-shaped structureand has a bearing section, wherein the bearing section is parallel tothe main body of the holder and is used for carrying the wafer.
 12. Thewafer probe device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the holder comprises amain body and a suction assembly, and the suction assembly is disposedon the main body and is movable relative to the main body.
 13. The waferprobe device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the suction assemblyextends along a central axis of the holder.
 14. The wafer probe deviceas claimed in claim 12, wherein when the transportation moduletransports the wafer to the holder, the suction assembly sucks the backside of the wafer.
 15. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 14,wherein the back side of the wafer is opposite to the probed surface.16. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the suctionassembly moves toward the main body.
 17. The wafer probe device asclaimed in claim 10, further comprising a transportation module, and thetransportation module is configured to transport the wafer to theholder.
 18. The wafer probe device as claimed in claim 17, wherein thetransportation module rotates the wafer from a horizontal state to avertical state, and the transportation module transports the wafer inthe vertical state to the holder.
 19. The wafer probe device as claimedin claim 18, wherein when the wafer is in the vertical state, a centeraxis of the wafer is parallel to the ground.